The once-rowdy livestream chat suddenly seemed to have been muted.
Expressionless, Xiao Yao stepped over the dead tree trunk lying across the ground and thought:
Chi Zong, you fucking idiot.
He could forget about that endorsement for the rest of his life.
The rare harmony among the group had been utterly destroyed by that one remark from the idiot Chi Zong.
This was far from the first time Chi Zong had done something like this.
Even Chi Zong Fans in the livestream could barely stand to watch.
[Our boy Zong really is something. Always getting his directions mixed up, then resolutely heading for the afterlife. (Thumbs-up.JPG)]
[I'd understand if our boy Zong got kicked off this show tomorrow.]
[If he gets blacklisted someday, he'll have earned it.]
That eerie silence lasted all the way until their midday break.
Even when it was time for their picnic in the woods at noon, the atmosphere still hadn't recovered.
Shen Yunzhi, one of the people involved, was quiet too.
There was a faint but still toe-curling sense of embarrassment.
She figured Xiao Yao must have felt it even more strongly than she did.
Otherwise, with Xiao Yao's obnoxious personality, he would have started making snide remarks or trading barbs with her ages ago.
The director handed out their lunches.
They were mostly ready-to-eat snacks.
Presumably, a staff member had already told Chi Zong what had just happened.
The usually talkative Zong was quiet too.
His eyes darted left toward Shen Yunzhi.
Then right toward Xiao Yao.
Thinking about the endorsement he had spent so long begging for, he wondered whether he should say something to ease the atmosphere he had completely ruined.
Out of the corner of her eye, An Zhizhi also caught Chi Zong looking around like a guilty thief.
She snapped, "What are you looking around so shiftily for?"
Chi Zong fell silent for a moment before saying, "Oh... my agent said my acting sucks. I heard tracing a Z with your eyes makes you look scheming, so I'm practicing while I've got nothing to do."
An Zhizhi: "..."
An Zhizhi said, "You don't look scheming. You look more like a weasel stealing a chicken."
Chi Zong: "..."
[There's a certain brain-stem-free beauty to him.]
[Zong, that's not a scheme. That's probable cause.]
[One second: hard to woo. The next: hard to cure.]
[I tried it in the mirror. Never seen such a sleazy look in my life.]
[Teacher, teacher, is that an uppercase Z or a lowercase z?]
A little later, the villagers picked some wild fruit and brought it over.
The ready-to-eat food tasted pretty ordinary.
The fruit the villagers brought looked crisp, its green skin gleaming enticingly.
An Zhizhi had already learned to do as the locals did. Without fussing, she pulled out the hem of her top to catch the fruit a villager handed her.
An Zhizhi, who had never thanked anyone in her life, actually awkwardly said, "Thank you," to the villager handing her the fruit.
Then she popped one into her mouth.
With that bite, a sourness like industrial-strength acid exploded in her mouth.
The sourness made An Zhizhi's mouth water uncontrollably and instantly twisted her features.
An Zhizhi heard Chi Zong say eagerly beside her, "Give me one too."
"..." Fighting back the sourness, An Zhizhi handed one over with a straight face.
Chi Zong eagerly took it.
He popped it into his mouth and chewed.
The sourness sent a shudder through his burly frame.
Before he could start fighting with An Zhizhi for setting him up,-
Jiang Yunli said, "I'd like some too."
Ji Nanxian was very wary. "It looks sour."
In that instant, Chi Zong's normally terrible acting reached new heights, and he stiffened his neck and swallowed.
Looking perfectly nonchalant, he said, "You're right. It's pretty sour."
Then he stuffed all the remaining fruit into his pockets and changed the subject. "All right, let's get going once we're done eating."
Ji Nanxian took one look.
Something's fishy.
If it tastes bad, why put it in his pockets?
Why take such a big bite?
Why change the subject?
Ji Nanxian didn't believe the fruit was that sour. "Give me one to try?"
Chi Zong said, "No."
Ji Nanxian was just about to snatch one.
Jiang Yunli had already asked the villagers for a few and handed them to him.
Ji Nanxian was about to eat the fruit while mocking Chi Zong for being stingy.
But after one bite-
The sourness made Ji Nanxian retch on the spot.
Then came an earth-shattering fit of coughing.
An Zhizhi and Chi Zong laughed like possessed little demons, reveling in his misery.
"Hahahahahaha!"
[I'm dying.]
[My tummy.]
[People never get tired when they're up to no good.]
[Who said our boy Zong couldn't act? Hahaha!]
[No wonder you lot ended up on the same show.]
One piece of wild fruit set Ji Nanxian and Chi Zong at each other's throats.
They might have been bickering, but at least he had managed to fit in.
Only Jiang Yunli stood off to the side alone.
If Ji Nanxian didn't talk to her, nobody paid her any attention.
Jiang Yunli stood awkwardly in place, watching everyone roughhouse together.
After hesitating for a while, she went to strike up a conversation with An Zhizhi. "Zhizhi, how are you holding up on a show like this? Let me help you..."
An Zhizhi glanced at her. "Are we that close?"
The question made Jiang Yunli's expression stiffen.
An Zhizhi gave a cold snort and walked away, displaying her spoiled-young-lady temper to the fullest.
Jiang Yunli and An Zhizhi had barely exchanged two sentences on this show.
She didn't even know why An Zhizhi was so averse to her too.
Just then, the director said they could forage on this hillside, as long as they didn't wander too far.
Jiang Yunli walked off alone in a huff.
She didn't know why things had turned out this way either.
The more she thought about it, the more wronged she felt. She didn't know why everyone was targeting her.
Shen Yunzhi was a victim, but wasn't she a victim too?
Ever since finding out she was only the fake heiress, she had been left with nothing.
She only wanted to secure a little more for herself.
What had she done wrong?
Why did everyone have to treat her this way?
Gritting her teeth, Jiang Yunli kept walking.
By the time she came to her senses, there was no one around.
She quickly snapped out of it and looked around in panic.
"Is anyone there?" Jiang Yunli called frantically.
She had been terrified that she was about to live out one of those scenes where someone got lost deep in the mountains.
But then a staff member answered from nearby.
"Ms. Jiang?"
Overjoyed, Jiang Yunli said, "Yes, it's me! I'm here!"
She ran toward the voice, only to suddenly hear a series of thuds as something tumbled downhill, followed by a cry of pain:
"Ow!"
Jiang Yunli instinctively stopped.
She looked toward the sound, her expression uncertain and alarmed.
That was... Shen Yunzhi's voice.
It sounded a little like Shen Yunzhi had rolled down the hillside.
Jiang Yunli hesitated.
But before long, the staff member came running over.
"Let's go, Ms. Jiang. It's time to gather."
Jiang Yunli dug her fingertips into her palm and looked several times in the direction the sound had come from.
Following her gaze, the staff member asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Ms. Jiang Yunli?"
For some reason, the staff member's voice startled Jiang Yunli.
Even her gaze trembled like a frightened rabbit's.
Jiang Yunli stuffed her tightly clenched hand into her down jacket pocket and stepped forward.
"N-no, nothing. Let's go."
Before you continue